Development of flexible encapsulation and planarization layer via vapor phase deposition

Abstract

Organic electronic device attracts large interest for next-generation flexible electronics due to its light-weight and flexibility. However, additional encapsulation is necessary to obtain reliable operation of the organic electronic devices due to its susceptibility to water vapor and oxygen. Moreover, encapsulation layer should be also flexible for the application with various form-factors. To achieve flexibility while maintaining excellent barrier property, each layer should be thinner without any defects. In this point of view, importance of the planarization of the substrate is growing by encouraging fabrication of thin and defect-free encapsulation layer. In this thesis, flexible thin film encapsulation and barrier adhesive layer for lamination of barrier film were developed via vapor phase deposition. Additionally, a thin organic planarization layer was also developed to enhance the performance of flexible encapsulation. These encapsulation and planarization layer were all fabricated in vapor phase process to minimize the damage to organic electronic devices, which allows stable operation of flexible organic electronic devices.